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04-26-09, 05:51 PM
I took part in the first organized ride of the season. There were several choices for distance and I went with the 66 mile route for two reasons I didn't think I was up to hilly 100 mile ride and the 66 miles route was one that I wanted to ride.
The weather forecast was a bit of a worry all week. Seems the high for the day kept going down, until yesterday when the high went from 51 to 54. There also was a chance of rain. I awoke to a morning of fog and frost and the temp was around 32 F. By the start of the ride I would guess the temp was between 36 - 38. The weather worked out the only wet roads we had was about 100 yards long and had previously been rained on. The ending temp was around 58, so it was nice.
My ride partner and I started a little before the start time for the 66 mile, but after the 100 mile ride group had left. The first few miles were uneventful along rural streets. We then headed into a MUP. The first good hill was about mile 2. I wasn't concerned with the nine miles and the hills because I have ridden it several times. After that there were numerous hills, some that seemed to go on forever.
Our route was around a lake, in photo below. The hills in the background is where we ended up riding on the backside of the lake. Most of the route was on rural roads with little should as shown in the second photo. My ride partner was on a hybrid and hadn't gotten in the rides he wanted so I ended up soft pedaling up some of the hills and waiting for him to arrive.
Did the ride in 4 hrs 48 min, for about a 14 MPH average. It was an enjoyable day.
The weather forecast was a bit of a worry all week. Seems the high for the day kept going down, until yesterday when the high went from 51 to 54. There also was a chance of rain. I awoke to a morning of fog and frost and the temp was around 32 F. By the start of the ride I would guess the temp was between 36 - 38. The weather worked out the only wet roads we had was about 100 yards long and had previously been rained on. The ending temp was around 58, so it was nice.
My ride partner and I started a little before the start time for the 66 mile, but after the 100 mile ride group had left. The first few miles were uneventful along rural streets. We then headed into a MUP. The first good hill was about mile 2. I wasn't concerned with the nine miles and the hills because I have ridden it several times. After that there were numerous hills, some that seemed to go on forever.
Our route was around a lake, in photo below. The hills in the background is where we ended up riding on the backside of the lake. Most of the route was on rural roads with little should as shown in the second photo. My ride partner was on a hybrid and hadn't gotten in the rides he wanted so I ended up soft pedaling up some of the hills and waiting for him to arrive.
Did the ride in 4 hrs 48 min, for about a 14 MPH average. It was an enjoyable day.